Scout seeks tax exemption hygiene products

Savannah Larmon presents a petition she created in hopes of cutting taxes on feminine products. Eddy Martinez/The Signal.

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One local Santa Clarita Valley Girl Scout is trying to impact the lives of women across California with a petition to end the sales tax on feminine hygiene products.

Necessities such as food and medicine are exempt from taxation in California, whereas tampons and pads are not, petition creator Savannah Larmon said.

As a result, the Saugus High School student and her fellow Girl Scout troup members are seeking to petition Gov. Jerry Brown to revoke the sales tax on feminine sanitary supplies.

“Women are discriminated against because of their menstrual cycle, which is natural and uncontrollable,” according to the petition. “There are no taxes on food because it is a need, so why should there be taxes on supplies that are pertinent to the health of women?”

Pads, tampons and cups are necessary for women’s health, Larmon added, but “the amount of money that is added by sales taxes can make an essential product for women not affordable to those who struggle financially.”

Women in California are taxed more than $20 million annually on tampons and sanitary napkins, paying on average $7 a month, for an average of 40 years, according to a release from California State Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia.

There is no specific tax for tampons, but they also aren’t included in any of California’s tax-exempt categories.

If the petition gathers enough signatures, Larmon said, it’ll be delivered to Brown.

Nearly 200 residents have signed the petition in support of Larmon’s effort, but a petition usually receives hundreds of thousands of signatures before it finds its way to the ballot.